1. Technical Field
This invention relates to video processing systems and, more particularly, to a video tracker system for tracking a target.
2. Discussion
Tactical system applications for video trackers require high performance even where background and foreground clutter compete with the target of interest. Additionally, these systems must satisfactorily perform under dynamic conditions where the relative aspect angles and range to the target are continuously changing.
Video tracking processors have been devised in the past which utilize a variety of processing techniques such as centroid, area balance, edge and numerous correlation implementation concepts. Both centroid and correlation type video tracking processors are well known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,004 issued Jan. 2, 1979 to Fitts discloses a video correlation tracker. U.S. Pat. No. 4,719,584 issued January 12, 1988 to Rue et al discloses a dual mode video tracker which employs both a correlation processor and a centroid processor. The prior art tracker is capable of operating in an automatic or competitive track mode where the processor yielding the best performance is selected for active track control. However, one processor is selected to the exclusion of the other and, consequently, only the selected processor is used to generate the tracking gate error signals.